A protective sleeve and a method for protecting delicate garments during machine washing

ABSTRACT

A protective sleeve and a method for protecting clothes and delicate materials during washing in a machine is provided. In an embodiment of the invention, the method is particularly applicable to protecting a garment formed with four corners having fringes attached to each of the corners, such as a tzitzit garment. The method includes the steps of first folding the garment transversely about its center; second folding the garment longitudinally; placing the fringes on top of the garment after the second folding; rolling the folded garment into a rolled object while ensuring that the fringes remain within the rolled object and inserting the rolled object within a protective sleeve.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/IB2015/0500772 which has an international filing date of Feb. 2, 2015, and which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/934,888 filed Feb. 3, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the protection of delicate garments being washed in a washing machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to protecting a tzitzit garment or any garment having fringes during washing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A tzitzit garment is a garment having four corners, each corner having fringes, known as “tzitzit,” attached thereto. The tzitzit garment is commonly worn by observant Jewish men and is traditionally constructed of cotton or wool. The tzitzit garment is basically a four cornered garment with a hole cut out for the head to pass through, thereby allowing the garment to loosely fit the wearer, or as a sleeveless undershirt style garment with four corners and tzitzit strings (e.g., fringes) attached to each bottom corner. The tzitzit fringes consist of four strings, which are intertwined.

A variation on the simple tzitzit garment consists of a clothing article, which combines the religious article with a shirt (or undershirt). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,780 to Falack describes a combined shirt and religious article that is rectangular, includes a neck opening, and fasteners for fitting it to the torso of the wearer. It replaces the need for a separate undershirt and Tzitzioth (fringed religious garment).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,494 “Garment” by Segol filed in 1984 that describes a garment that is formed with a body encircling portion which encircles and encloses the body, either temporarily or permanently, for about one-third or less the length of the garment, with two-thirds or more of the garment being open. Yet, the garment gives the appearance of being fully closed along the sides or located areas of open section. The garment is formed with at least four distinct corners, which may contain fringes.

US Patent Application 20050097651 to Segol, describes garments in which the torso front panel and the torso back panel are stitched together along at least a portion of each side of the garment, and along a remaining portion of each side the torso front panel and the torso back panel are left unstitched together. The unstitched together portion of each of the torso front panel and the torso back panel overlap along the side of the garment, so as to enclose the torso of the wearer.

A problem arises when washing the garment in a washing machine, since the washing action causes the fringes to become entangled and twisted with other clothes being washed at the same time. Furthermore, the tzitzit fringes and/or the garment may become torn or damaged, which negates its religion value and will require to be replaced.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,494 describes tzitzit which themselves may be made detachable and removable from the respective corners and placed in the bag and laundered separately from the garment. However, it is neither convenient nor simple to detach tzitzit from the garment since tying and untying the tzitzit to each corner is time consuming. Since the fringe has a predefined number of knots and threads and has specific rules and regulations for attaching the tzitzit to the garment, the suggestion made in U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,494 is not realistic or practical for the traditional garment.

Us Application 20090144877 to Barkai describes garment provided with internal pockets protecting the tzitzit while being washed in a washing machine. However, the tzitzit tend to fall out and become entangled with other articles being washed and become twisted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method for protecting a tzitzit garment. It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a system and method for protecting clothes and delicate materials during washing.

There is thus provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method for protecting a garment formed with four corners having fringes attached to each of the corners, the method including the steps of:

first folding the garment transversely about its center;

second folding the garment longitudinally;

placing the fringes on top of the garment after the second folding;

rolling the folded garment into a rolled object, ensuring that the fringes remain within the rolled object; and

inserting the rolled object within a protective sleeve.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve is closed at one end having an opening at its other end. Alternatively, the protective sleeve may have openings at each end of the sleeve.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the method further includes the step of securing each end of the protective sleeve, thereby to prevent the garment from falling out of the sleeve.

In addition, there is also provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method for protecting a garment during washing, the method including the steps of:

placing the garment into a protective sleeve; and

securing each end of the protective sleeve thereby to prevent the garment from being displaced.

In addition, there is also provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a protective sleeve including at least one open end for insertion therein of an article to be protected during washing, the protective sleeve being constructed from material providing compression and durability.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve further includes a closing device to fasten and secure the open end of the protective sleeve thereby to prevent the article within the protective sleeve from falling out.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve is constructed from an elasticated, woven or knitted material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a tzitzit garment;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a protective sleeve

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate a method of folding the tzitzit garment of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates the tzitzit garment of FIG. 1 being inserted within the protective sleeve; and

FIG. 8 illustrates the protective sleeve containing the inserted tzitzit garment, ready for use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for protecting delicate materials. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention is illustrated with reference to a tzitzit garment having fringes attached thereto.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-8. FIG. 1 shows the tzitzit garment 10 which comprises a piece of material 12 having a head opening 14 and four sets of fringes 16 fitted to each corner. In an embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve 18 is closed at one end 20 having an opening at its other end 22. The protective sleeve 18 may be formed from any material having elasticity, which allows for the expansion of the protective sleeve 18. The protective sleeve may be constructed from any suitable material providing compression and durability and maybe woven or knitted, for example. In an embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve 18 may be constructed with one end sealed and having an opening at its other end for the insertion of the tzitzit garment 10 or other delicate garment.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the protective sleeve 18 may be constructed with opening at both ends.

An embodiment of the method of folding is shown in FIGS. 3-7. The tzitzit garment 10 is first folded longitudinally, as shown in FIG. 3. Then the tzitzit garment 10 is folded, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the four sets of fringes 16 are collected together. The four sets of fringes 16 are then turned onto the tzitzit garment 10 (FIG. 5) and the tzitzit garment 10 is then rolled (FIG. 6) protecting the tzitzit resulting in a cylindrical object in which the four sets of fringes 16 are protected by the material of the garment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Finally, the rolled up tzitzit garment 10 is inserted into the protective sleeve 18 as shown in FIG. 7. The protective sleeve 18 tightly compresses the tzitzit garment 10 preventing the tzitzit garment 10 from falling out of the protective sleeve 18 (see FIG. 8). Thus, the tzitzit garment 10 and its fringes 16 are fully protected from becoming entangled with other washing items when inserted in a washing machine. Stretchable clips or other closing devices such as Velcro, for example, may be used to fasten and secure the open end of the protective sleeve 18 (or both ends, in the alternative embodiment) in place and prevent the articles within the protective sleeve 18 from falling out.

The washing action of an automatic washing machine will ensure that the tzitzit garment 10 will be cleaned without the tzitzit garment 10 or its fringes being damaged.

The method is applicable for all sizes of tzitzit. The method described is not limited to the tzitzit garment 10 described. In addition to the standard tzitzit garment described, there are numerous variations in shape and design of garments having the same religious function as the tzitzit garment 10. For instance, a garment such as a sports shirt combining the functions of a shirt or undershirt. Such a sports shirt would generally be manufactured with an inner and an outer layer. The four fringes are attached to each corner of the outer layer, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,780 to Falack, for example.

The method is also suitable for other protecting any garment such as a tallit (a prayer shawl worn over clothes) which also has sets of fringes attached to each of its corners.

The method is also suitable for other protecting any garment manufactured from a delicate fabric, which is easily damaged. By folding delicate fabrics and inserting them into a protective sleeve, the delicate fabrics may be washed by a machine instead of by being laboriously washed by hand, as is the general manner for washing delicate fabrics.

A beneficial effect of the method of the invention is that the clean garment emerges less creased after washing and does not need ironing or may only require minimal ironing.

The method described is also suitable for protecting small items such as socks, which may become lost or entangled with other clothes during the washing cycle.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited by what has been described hereinabove and that numerous modifications, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention, exist. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which follow: 

1. A method for protecting a substantially rectangular-shaped garment formed with four corners having fringes attached to each of said four corners, comprising the steps of: first folding the garment transversely about its center; second folding the garment longitudinally; placing the fringes on top of the garment after the second folding; rolling the folded garment into a rolled object, ensuring that the fringes remain within the rolled object; and inserting the rolled object within a protective sleeve.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protective sleeve is closed at one end having an opening at its other end.
 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of securing the open end of said protective sleeve, thereby to prevent the garment from being displaced.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protective sleeve comprises openings at each end.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protective sleeve is constructed from an elasticated, woven or knitted material.
 6. A method for protecting a garment during washing, comprising the steps of: placing the garment into a cylindrical object; and securing each end of said protective sleeve thereby to prevent the garment from being displaced.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said garment is constructed with four corners, each corner having fringes attached thereto, wherein said step of placing comprises the steps of: first folding the garment transversely about its center; second folding the garment longitudinally; placing the fringes on top of the garment after the second folding; and rolling the folded garment into a rolled object, ensuring that the fringes remain within the rolled object.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protective sleeve is closed at one end having an opening at its other end.
 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein said protective sleeve is constructed from an elasticated, woven or knitted material.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protective sleeve comprises openings at each end.
 11. A protective sleeve comprising at least one open end for insertion therein of an article to be protected during the washing cycle, said protective sleeve constructed from material providing compression and durability.
 12. The protective sleeve of claim 11, further comprising a closing device to fasten and secure said at least one open end of the protective sleeve thereby to prevent the article within the protective sleeve from falling out. 